Smith needs to find balance with culture of accountability

No player wants Big Brother looking over his shoulder ever time he gets into a three-point stance

October 01, 2010|By Matt Bowen | Scouting the Bears

Tommie Harris awaits the start of play against the Detroit Lions. (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Lovie Smith has set a new standard for the Bears when it comes to accountability. Perform or he will find someone else who will. Tommie Harris? Benched. Zack Bowman? The quick hook early Monday night. A new style of coaching from Smith, but one that has to be handled correctly. Coach with a heavy hand and you will see returns, but no player wants Big Brother looking over his shoulder ever time he gets into a three-point stance. Find that balance that allows players to perform with accountability in mind.

Playing in Washington, accountability was the main topic of every meeting, and as I learned, every single practice. I went into a Friday morning practice as the starter at strong safety, blew an assignment and found myself back on the special teams depth chart come Sunday morning at the stadium. Benched. That was the culture out in D.C. when Joe Gibbs was the head coach — a shift from the Steve Spurrier days. Produce on the field or sit. It happened to all of us. Big names like Sean Taylor, LaVar Arrington. Give up a play and you are done for the afternoon. The extreme side of coaching in the NFL. Under that culture, there is no margin for error on the field. You play tight, constricted and come off as almost robotic.

I also saw the soft side of coaching during my career. Told to go in for the starter — the one with the massive paycheck — only to be grabbed by the head coach as I started to run onto the field. A phone call had come down to the sidelines during a time out from the owner's box. The money plays. No questions asked. Forget about production, missed tackles or busted coverages. The owner wanted that paycheck active and in the huddle.

We all saw it happen, because the locker room is the best judge. Players talk, they gossip and they complain. But they know who should be on that field and who should be there standing on the sidelines in sweats, without a helmet, removed from the action that matters the most. They want it to be fair, not judgmental and with no strings attached. They understand that money will play — and that money will get second chances — but there has to be accountability. The coaches have to reward production and walk that fine line of sitting a player down if he isn't making plays.

For Harris and Bowman, reality has set in. The Bears won their biggest game in years, on a national stage, without them. Went to 3-0 and the talk of the NFL while they watched. I have been there when I was deactivated for a playoff game. It is lonely, desolate standing on that sideline with no helmet, no shoulder pads and no real reason to even be there. Coaches don't talk to you, nor do the players who are working on that field. I have also been yanked from the lineup in a game, my afternoon finished, minus a special teams play here or there when the coach needed a body to sacrifice.

For Smith, finding that balance is key. Coach with accountability as a standard, give opportunities to the next guy in line, but allow his team to play without concern that a false step or a missed block will cost them their job. He has set the bar with Harris and Bowman. And it looks like the locker room has taken notice.